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1 – 10 of over 101000Barbara H. Chasin and Laura Kramer
Age and gender intersect, often lowering quality of life for older women. Microlevel patterns include ignoring older women in one’s presence, flattening their identities to only…
Abstract
Age and gender intersect, often lowering quality of life for older women. Microlevel patterns include ignoring older women in one’s presence, flattening their identities to only their status as older women. Macrolevel patterns include the erasure of older women, with cultural (media) representations, organizational practices and policies and social policies that ignore the existence of older women or distort their characteristics in ways that diminish the likelihood of equitable treatment. Using autoethnography, conversations with a small group of older women, and scholarly and popular literature, we describe varieties of microlevel experiences and responses to them. Focusing on macrolevel erasure, we describe some of the effects of combined ageism and sexism, and we look at activists’ and organizational responses aimed at changing public awareness and attitudes toward age and gendering. Policy changes are suggested to make the social treatment of older women more equitable, including attention to housing, health care, and public education. We note specific past achievements that demonstrate policy change is possible.
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Rachel King and Steve Jex
While well-being and resilience in the workplace continue to be important areas of research, the role age plays in well-being and resilience at work and associated positive work…
Abstract
While well-being and resilience in the workplace continue to be important areas of research, the role age plays in well-being and resilience at work and associated positive work outcomes is often ignored. In most studies age is simply treated as a control variable. In this chapter, we outline the importance of considering age in well-being and resilience research by focusing on how age may impact both of these variables and drawing on research from both the organizational psychology and developmental psychology literature. Theoretical models of these relationships are put forth, and future research directions are discussed.
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Deborah Mifsud, Maria Attard and Stephen Ison
Old age is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The relationship between old age and transport is also very complex due to the heterogeneity within this age group. Yet what is…
Abstract
Old age is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. The relationship between old age and transport is also very complex due to the heterogeneity within this age group. Yet what is certain is that with age, a person’s functional abilities change. This chapter provides a summary of how older people can be vulnerable within the road environment. Using an established framework for understanding old-age vulnerabilities, this chapter explains the common exposure factors and threats that several older people face in the transport environment. These primarily deal with individual physical and cognitive characteristics, medical conditions as well as the appropriateness (or not) of infrastructure. Subsequently, common difficulties for older drivers, pedestrians and public transport users are discussed. The main vulnerabilities that result from such difficulties are related to an over-representation of older people in accidents and to a lower quality of life due to mobility inefficiencies. Yet, using the same framework, the compensation techniques that older people often adopt to minimise such limitations are also highlighted. Reference is also made to the issues related to the lack of awareness in old age and the corresponding inability to compensate. The review concludes by suggesting a way forward for further studies on transport vulnerability in later life.
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Nguyen Huu Minh and Phan Thi Mai Huong
Purpose: To explore emotional support, daily housework assistance, and economic support for older adults provided by the Vietnamese family within the context of the impacts of…
Abstract
Purpose: To explore emotional support, daily housework assistance, and economic support for older adults provided by the Vietnamese family within the context of the impacts of socio-economic, demographic, and other factors.
Methodology: (1) The researchers used data from censuses taken from 1989 to 2019; national surveys of Internal Migration, Labor and Employment and other topics; and recent large sample sociological surveys (2) adapted a modified Diamond Care Model (Ochiai, 2009) to analyze effects of the characteristics of older adults; and of the country’s laws, policies, and socio-economic changes, on the families’ caregiving activities supporting the older adults.
Findings: The family is still the most important institution providing care for older adults in Viet Nam. Most older people live with their children and see this as an age-old security solution despite differences related to lifestyles and interests. However, when the average number of working-age people per older person decreases, as older adults live longer, household sizes are smaller, and there is increased large migration, the demand for non-family caregiving for older adults will increase. Since social services to help meet this demand are limited, the traditional family support system for the elderly in Viet Nam will face many challenges as families try to assure the quality of care needed in the very near future.
Value: This chapter shows systematically a relationship between elderly care in the Vietnamese family and socio-economic, demographic, and associated factors based on comprehensive data sources. The results can help us think about how to create an appropriate future model for taking care of older adults in Viet Nam that combines the efforts of families and the support of comprehensive social policies by the community.
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Aart-Jan Riekhoff, Noora Järnefelt, Mikko Laaksonen and Jyri Liukko
This article investigates whether employers are more likely to employ older workers when faced with a shortage of qualified labour. Furthermore, it analyses whether in such cases…
Abstract
Purpose
This article investigates whether employers are more likely to employ older workers when faced with a shortage of qualified labour. Furthermore, it analyses whether in such cases age stereotypes moderate employers' preferences towards four employment options: (1) supporting workers to continue until the retirement age, (2) encouraging workers to continue beyond the retirement age, (3) recruiting someone older than 55 and (4) (re)hiring someone who has retired.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were drawn from a survey conducted among Finnish employers in 2021 (response rate = 66%, N = 1,442). Applying factor analysis to questions about older workers' qualities compared to those of average workers, a distinction was made between perceptions of experience-related and adaptability-related qualities. Generalised ordered logistic regression models were estimated to analyse the relations of preferences for each employment option with experiencing recruitment problems, workplace age stereotypes and interactions between these.
Findings
Experiencing recruitment problems was positively related to preferences for hiring a retired person. Employers with difficulties in recruitment were more likely to support work until the retirement age and recruit someone over 55, but only if they had above-average positive perceptions of older workers' experience-related qualities. Employers confronted with recruitment difficulties were more likely to encourage workers to continue beyond the retirement age if they had more positive perceptions of older workers' adaptability-related qualities.
Originality/value
This study shows that, even when confronted with labour shortages and population ageing, workplace age stereotypes still pose a potential obstacle for employers to make the best use of an older workforce.
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Hendrik P. van Dalen and Kène Henkens
The purpose of this paper is to see whether attitudes toward older workers by managers change over time and what might explain development over time.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to see whether attitudes toward older workers by managers change over time and what might explain development over time.
Design/methodology/approach
A unique panel study of Dutch managers is used to track the development of their attitudes toward older workers over time (2010–2013) by focusing on a set of qualities of older workers aged 50 and older. A conditional change model is used to explain the variation in changes by focusing on characteristics of the manager (age, education, gender, tenure and contact with older workers) and of the firm (composition staff, type of work and sector, size).
Findings
Managers have significantly adjusted their views on the so-called “soft skills” of older workers, like reliability and loyalty. Attitudes toward “hard skills” – like physical stamina, new tech skills and willingness to train – have not changed. Important drivers behind these changes are the age of the manager – the older the manager, the more likely a positive change in attitude toward older workers can be observed – and the change in the quality of contact with older workers. A deterioration of the managers’ relationship with older workers tends to correspond with a decline in their assessment of soft and hard skills.
Social implications
Attitudes are not very susceptible to change but this study shows that a significant change can be expected simply from the fact that managers age: older managers tend to have a more positive assessment of the hard and soft skills of older workers than young managers.
Originality/value
This paper offers novel insights into the question whether stereotypes of managers change over time.
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Lisa Meneely, Amy Burns and Chris Strugnell
An understanding of consumer behaviour will enable service providers to segment their client base and target specific customer groups with strategies designed to meet their retail…
Abstract
Purpose
An understanding of consumer behaviour will enable service providers to segment their client base and target specific customer groups with strategies designed to meet their retail needs. Hence, an insight into and understanding of how consumers interact with and evaluate a retail offering will help improve customer service and satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in consumers' food retail behaviour with regard to the demographic variable of age, based on the older population. This paper focuses on food shoppers aged over 60 years living independently in Northern Ireland. The retail geography in Northern Ireland has changed and whilst affecting all consumers has impacted to a greater degree on older consumers. This and the fact that the over 60 age group is increasing demographically illustrate why this consumer segment is worthy of greater consideration.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative methodological approach is employed and data are collected using a consumer questionnaire (n=791). The questionnaire is analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.
Findings
The results show that as age increases older consumers' retail buying and food‐related behaviour changes. A decline in patronage of multiple retailers is evident as age increases; as is consumers' perceived value of multi‐purchase promotions and nutritional confidence. Alongside increasing age there is an apparent increase in the use of local shops, the enjoyment gained from shopping, the difficulty experienced in accessing food retail sites and the problems experienced when cooking.
Practical implications
This paper suggests that age may be used to differentiate between customer groups and retailers must take age into consideration when providing a product offering and in retail provision for the elderly consumer.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils a need for information on older consumers' retail behaviour in Northern Ireland and offers advice to food retailers attempting to better serve this increasingly important consumer segment.
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Joonhyeong Joseph Kim, Young-joo Ahn and Insin Kim
This study aims to identify the effect of age identity on attitude to online sites, examine the impact of this attitude on e-loyalty and investigate the moderating effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the effect of age identity on attitude to online sites, examine the impact of this attitude on e-loyalty and investigate the moderating effect of motivational orientation.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was distributed to an online panel consisting of US-based adults older than 50 and usable data were collected from 284 participants, followed by an analysis using structural equation modeling.
Findings
Psychological and social age negatively influenced older adults’ attitude toward travel websites. Recreation-oriented motivation influenced the effect of online attitude on e-loyalty more strongly than did task-oriented motivation.
Originality/value
Unlike previous studies, the current study provided several managerial implications for e-marketers intending to attract older adults by adopting the multidimensional scale of age identity to predict older adults’ online attitude.
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Dorien Kooij, Annet de Lange, Paul Jansen and Josje Dikkers
Little is known about the motivation for older workers to work and to remain active in the labor market. Research on age and motivation is limited and, moreover, conceptually…
Abstract
Purpose
Little is known about the motivation for older workers to work and to remain active in the labor market. Research on age and motivation is limited and, moreover, conceptually diverse. This paper aims to address age‐related factors that influence the work motivation of older workers. More specifically, it seeks to examine how various conceptualizations of the age factor affect the direction and termination of the motivation to continue to work of older workers.
Design/methodology/approach
A literature review of age‐related factors and motivation to continue to work is the approach taken in the paper.
Findings
Results from 24 empirical and nine conceptual studies indicate that most age‐related factors can have a negative impact on the motivation to continue to work of older people. These findings suggest that age‐related factors are important in understanding older workers' motivation to continue to work and that further research is needed to more fully understand the underlying processes that govern how these age‐related factors influence the motivation to continue to work.
Research limitations/implications
Based on the aforementioned findings, the paper was able to formulate a research agenda for future research, such as: a need for a meta‐analysis on age and motivation to determine the actual effect sizes, and additional theoretical attention to the underlying age‐related processes.
Practical implications
Age‐related factors identified in this study, such as declining health and career plateaus, should be addressed by HRM policies. HRM practices that could motivate older workers to continue to work include ergonomic adjustments and continuous career development.
Originality/value
Research on age and motivation is limited and conceptually diverse. This paper is one of the first studies to explore the relations between different conceptualizations of age and motivation.
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Karolina Wägar and Lars‐Johan Lindqvist
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons and whether younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons in a…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to ascertain whether older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons and whether younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons in a variety of service settings with different search, experience, and credence qualities.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a statistical analysis of data from a survey of younger and older Finnish customers using a structured questionnaire.
Findings
Older customers prefer older customer‐contact persons to younger customer‐contact persons in all the studied service settings. Younger customers prefer younger customer‐contact persons to older customer‐contact persons in all the studied service settings, with the exception of services high in credence qualities – in which they preferred older customer‐contact persons.
Practical implications
Age is a relevant factor in service design. Service providers therefore need to: take age into account in service design: adapt their service offerings according to the age of the clientele; and consider having both younger and older customer‐contact persons in their workforce.
Originality/value
Research into the role of age in service encounters is scarce. This study contributes to the field of services marketing by investigating this issue. The study provides empirical support for the commonly accepted presumption that customer‐contact persons closer in age to the customer are perceived by the customer as being better at adapting service.
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